St. Joseph's Children's Hospital Partners with Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC for Pediatric Heart Care

TAMPA, Fla., Oct. 2, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- St. Joseph's Children's Hospital announces a partnership with Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC for pediatric heart services. Together, they will provide highly specialized cardiovascular care for patients ranging from babies in the womb to adults with congenital heart disease inside St. Joseph's Heart Institute, a new 35,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art facility located on the hospital campus in Tampa.   

St. Joseph's Children's Hospital has been home to one of the largest pediatric cardiovascular programs in the Southeast and is a regional referral center for the diagnosis and treatment of congenital heart defects. Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC is consistently ranked as a top 10 children's hospital by U.S. News & World Report. Data shows that its pediatric cardiovascular surgery program has the lowest overall four-year surgical mortality rate among all medium- and high-volume programs with a rate of 1.1 percent, according to the latest data compiled by the Society of Thoracic Surgeons (2008-2012).

"This partnership brings the expertise of some of the country's top-ranking pediatric heart physicians to our community, providing families across Florida with unprecedented access to the highest level of pediatric heart care available," said St. Joseph's Children's Hospital President Kimberly Guy.

For nearly two decades, St. Joseph's Children's Hospital has provided a full spectrum of pediatric cardiac services, from less-invasive diagnostic catheterization, nonsurgical valve replacement and electrophysiology studies, to cardiovascular surgery for the rarest and most complex congenital heart defects. Patients are treated by specialists specifically trained to care for children, including cardiologists, cardiovascular anesthesiologists, fetal cardiologists, interventionalists, intensivists, nurse practitioners, perfusionists, pharmacists and surgeons.

In addition to collaborating with St. Joseph's Children's Hospital's multidisciplinary cardiac team on surgical and non-invasive cardiology services, Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC's experts will provide additional support to patients, families and caregivers in St. Joseph's Children's Hospital's cardiac intensive care unit via telemedicine.

The partnership also brings the support of internationally renowned pediatric cardiothoracic surgeon, Victor Morell, MD. Now serving as chief of the Division of Pediatric Cardiothoracic Surgery at Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC, Dr. Morell previously led the pediatric cardiac surgical team at St. Joseph's Children's Hospital.

"We are grateful for the opportunity to bring our unique expertise in pediatric heart surgery to families in Florida," said Dr. Morell. "We share a commitment with St. Joseph's Children's Hospital to provide the absolute best possible pediatric care to patients and families from the Tampa area and beyond."

About St. Joseph's Children's Hospital
As Tampa's only dedicated children's hospital, St. Joseph's Children's Hospital is designed to meet the unique needs of children and their families by providing high-tech pediatric health care in a family-centered, child-friendly environment. Part of the BayCare Health System, St. Joseph's Children's Hospital is the third largest children's hospital in Florida, providing more acute medical and surgical pediatric care than all other hospitals in Hillsborough County.

About Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC
Regionally, nationally, and globally, Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC is a leader in the treatment of childhood conditions and diseases, a pioneer in the development of new and improved therapies, and a top educator of the next generation of pediatricians and pediatric subspecialists. Children's Hospital has fulfilled this mission since its founding in 1890. Children's is named consistently to several elite lists of pediatric hospitals, including ranking 7^th among children's hospitals and schools of medicine (FY 2013) in funding for pediatric research provided by the National Institutes of Health, and is one of 10 pediatric hospitals in the United States named to U.S. News & World Report's Honor Roll of America's "Best Children's Hospitals" for 2014–2015.

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SOURCE St. Joseph's Children's Hospital